Fantasy Friday: Strong Females

Fantasy Friday is a segment that highlights a certain topic regarding the Fantasy genre.

The Fantasy genre has come a long, long way since the 1970s. While there are still authors who stick a female in the role of damsel in distress, generally speaking, I think we’ve moved passed this and have begun to realize that absolutely, a female can and will save the day.

So, this particular post is going to highlight some of the books I found to be inspiring.

Enjoy and feel free to comment below for a discussion.

This is perhaps one of my first fantasy reads ever. I believe I was thirteen when I picked up this beaten copy. It was a classmates book and he would just beat on it during class on purpose. [Yeah, I cringe thinking back on that still!]

Prior to this book I had never been much into reading, but this is the one that kick-started it all.

Aerin’s mother was a witch who put a spell on the King, made him fall in love with her, marry her, and get with child so that she could produce the heir to Damar. Only… She ends up birthing a daughter instead of a son! Despaired, she dies.

There isn’t much use for a girl in the kingdom, but Aerin is determined to prove everyone wrong in spite of her gender. She goes through hell to prove herself worthy, it showcases her struggles and she still comes out on top and worthy. There is even some romance in here, too.

I think this will always be looked at fondly because it was one of my firsts and it just so happened to have a strong female lead, who endured fire to show her people and her father how strong she truly was.

Phèdre’s Trilogy is not for the faint of heart when it comes to length in novels or matters of BDSM/Sex. Love as thou wilt is a command of the fictitious god in the novels which means there is a lot of free lovings going around. Free to take up a male or female lover as you will. However, the book is so much more than just sex, it’s largely a political intrigue novel with dashes of sex, heroism, and adventure.

Phèdre nó Delaunay is an unwanted get who was sold into servitude to Anafiel Delaunay, he notices the pin prick of red in her eye and he knows at once what is – Kushiel’s Dart – and what she is. A servant of Kushiel, one who will forever endure pain and pleasure as one. He scoops her up, raises her and more than that teaches her to become a clever tool to use herself to gain intel. She is trained in both ways of a courtesan as well as a spy.

Eventually, she stumbles on a plot that lands her in hot water and it’s up to her and her stick in the mud of a Cassiline Priest to get her through it.

Phèdre is a brilliant female lead, she speaks and translates a multitude of languages, knows how to read a person’s body language and even though she has a few drawbacks and knows that her “gift” weakens her, she is still able to persevere.

‘That which yields is not always weak.’

No truer words than that.

There is also splashes of romance as well as love throughout the series. Again, one of my favorite series.